I do love afternoon teas, and I was quite intrigued to try out Pelham Hotel’s ‘Tea-tox Afternoon Tea’. This was my second afternoon tea in the week, so this ‘healthier’ option was definitely a good call to ‘balance it out’ for the week… Making the most of my week off, I made the booking on a weekday, which was clearly much quieter compared to the weekend. There were three different teas to choose from, and we both ordered the ‘Beautiful Skin Tea’, described as to ‘help promote healthy and clear skin over the whole body’. Our three-tiered tray of afternoon tea snacks eventually arrived. We started from the bottom, nibbling on the healthy crudités with roasted carrots hummus, and the poached salmon rye bread sandwich. Moving up towards the second tier were berries skewers with honey, cucumber and lime sorbet, and the third which was different to the menu was some sort of cream with crunchy granola bits. I’m sure that would have counted as one of my five-a-day… And last but not least, were the yogurt drizzle lemon and basil cake, and a rich and indulgent mini chocolate pot. A bit naughtier than the other tiers, but then again it’s all about the portion sizes… And of course there were the brown rice and ginger scones with agave syrup, served with clotted cream and Tiptree jam on the side. Not quite my usual afternoon tea, as I usually go full-out when indulging myself in treats. But I am always open to trying anything new, and this was a pleasant little experience on a beautiful sunny day in London. And I did leave feeling less guilty than I normally would have after afternoon teas! Check out my blog for the full post with photos x
Eowyn K.
Place rating: 4 Royal Oak, MI
Bistro Fifteen is connected to the Pelham Hotel on the basement level. It is easy to miss from the street as there is not a clear sign, more like a posting with a menu. As it is part of the hotel where we were staying we ended up here often for breakfast. The bistro is small and contemporary with both a bar and a bookshelf. For breakfast they offer a buffet or a menu that is a mix of average breakfast items to more fine dining breakfast items. The buffet offers many healthy options but still has baked goodies like chocolate croissants. They also have something they call a fruit cluster and nut crumble that comes in a small jar. It has layers of fruit, granola and greek yogurt and it is good. As cute as it is, it is small and disappears very quickly. I also really enjoyed their Croque Madame. On a rainy morning it is baked, cheesy goodness. As an American I will note that there is some translation issues with ‘bacon’. Where the menu lists bacon(such as in the omelet), ham is brought instead. They also offer tea as well as dinner, neither of which we tried so not part of my rating.
Birkop
Place rating: 1 London, United Kingdom
Expensive restaurant in the Pelham hotel. First named after owners — Kemps — than changed to Bistro Fifteen after sale of business. I was there few times because its opposite south Kensington Tube. Food is seriously overpriced. I don’t remember exactly but eggs benedict was about £14! Bottle of water £5. SERVICECHARGE added everywhere ! Good for people who have fat wallet and ego but skinny intellect. I can recommend staying in the hotel which is lovely.